Innocent Aims

Part I: Capture and Release

Chapter 2: Battle in a Box

He let go of my arm and stopped dragging me around as we arrived at the rental stadium. I looked at him a moment forlornly, and but then just casually returned my two pokemon to their pokeballs. Then I just crossed my arms and observed him as he stared, seemingly in awe, at the stadium. His pikachu got off of his shoulder to sniff around, and he didn't even seem to notice. I guessed that he really hadn't really been to one before. "Heh," I said to myself. Him seeming so impressed at such a common site amused me.

Then he tilted his head, like a pokemon himself, pausing to think. "It's smaller than I thought it would be," he finally said.

Oh, so that had been what he'd meant. "Well, what do you expect?" I said. "It's not Indigo Stadium, it's just a little arena for legal battling within city limits.

"You can't legally battle just anywhere in the city?" he asked.

"Ug," I said to myself and put a hand on my forehead. "You don't even know that?"

"No..." He did look a little guilty while saying this, but I still smirked at how oblivious he was to everything.

"You can only battle in specially prepared arenas in most big cities. There's just too much that can be damaged out in the open. You have to go places like these stadiums or licensed gyms. Some people even have their own privately approved arena. But neither the construction nor the licenses come cheap, you know."

He paused, furrowing his brow. What was there to think about so much in what I'd just said, I wondered? He finally spoke. "So, most cities? But I think I've battled outside in nearly every city I've been to. How d'you know which you can battle outside in?"

"Short of getting in trouble with the law, try reading?" I suggested. "You know, a book on travel? Maybe a cellphone, pokedex, or poketch ap? About a million different ways to get information if you want it, kid." I turned and looked at him with a grin. But it seemed like he was sulking again. "Or you could just ask someone, like me. You're lucky to run into me, aren't you?" I put my arm around him, and he just stared curiously up at me. I quickly moved away, slightly embarrassed.

"Do you really not remember me?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Did we really meet? Pallet's not as big as a city like this, and I think I'd remember someone like you."

He folded his arms. "I guess you're not playing. But it doesn't matter, anyway. It's not like we have to know each other to have a pokemon battle."

No, no, not that! I panicked inwardly. Knowing him was exactly what I wanted, a pokemon battle was secondary, irrelevant even. He was practically a newbie compared to me. If it was anyone else, I would have refused the battle and left by now. But him.... I had a strong urge merely to know him. "What's your name, anyway?" I asked.

He shook his head, only smiling at me. "Why should I tell you, Gary? You'd just end up forgetting again, anyway."

"Doubtful. I remember the names of most trainers I've fought."

"But forgetting everyone from back home's okay with you?"

I clenched my jaw and said nothing. But he had a point, so there wasn't much use in arguing with him. People had to have at least some kind of fleeting importance in my mind in order for me to remember them. By battling with me, trainers did. I was talented enough at battling to realize that I'd need to be able to read the people as well as the pokemon involved, so I studied them, scrutinized them even, anything needed for the purposes of winning. But normal people, like those I'd met in the street or even visitors to my place of residence, I paid little attention to. With all of the people that came in and out of my grandpa's lab, I think I could only actually name a handful, and even then I didn't know if they were actually residents of Pallet Town or not.

I was kind of reserved kid, anyway. I didn't need to talk to people a lot. Not that I was shy, I just got caught up in other things. Maybe this kid was someone that I'd met for one day. When he was pretty young, and I was also a kid. I surely wouldn't have seen him the way I did now, not when we were both some bratty kids. Yeah, that was probably it.

I was surprised that I was even seeing him this way at all, if my head wasn't playing tricks on me. Guess that for this part of my life at least, I was a late bloomer. Well, considering all of my other talents, something had to give. It's too bad it had to be something I couldn't go study in order to master. I mean, I could only study him so much, humans are a lot more complicated than pokemon. Finding a move for beginning a good relationship was certainly more complicated than finding a move for a pokemon battle.

Funny enough, my move was to have a pokemon battle. I didn't know if it was a disastrous one or not. I mean, how would he react if he lost? It couldn't be completely foreign to him, but how did he treat his victors, anyway? Not that I was about to give anything less than my best. Who knew how he'd act in the unlikely event that he was the winner. Maybe he's never even want to see me again, seeing as then I'd have no value toward his pokemon journey. I didn't want to be treated with the same casual indifference that I treated the trainers that furthered my own experience. But at the same time, I didn't want to be like the guy who beat me to him, either. This was starting to look like a bad idea.

His pikachu had made it to the front door before us. It looked up at the closed automatic doors. "Pika," it said testily. It began to push in-between them, unsuccessfully trying to get it open. It wouldn't budge at all. I was about to snicker at its trouble when I noticed the pokemon getting in a familiar stance, little sparks rising from its cheeks.

"Hey, wait a minute!" I shouted.

"Huh?" he said.

"Pika?" the pikachu said and looked back at me.

"Your pikachu was about to electrocute the door, wasn't it? And you..." I said.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I'm so used to her just shocking everything that I forgot to do anything. Yeah, that would probably have been a pretty bad situation!" He laughed like it was a joke.

I sighed again. He'd been making me do that a lot. Breaking social norms was one thing, but this- "You need to keep it -- keep her under control. Why isn't she in a pokeball, anyway?"

"Um, Pikachu doesn't like pokeballs."

"Right. And it -- she does like causing property damage."

"Pikachu didn't really think about like that, did you, Pikachu?"

"Pika! Pika pika! Pikachu!" The pikachu began a long speech, and I marveled as her trainer pretended to understand it all, nodding and playing along. But I got the idea. Like trainer, like pokemon.

"Yeah, you were in a hurry to go in, right?" I said. As I walked up to the door, it opened automatically.

"Pika!" the pikachu said in surprise.

"The censor is right up here, shorty," I teased her and pointed at the area a little bit above her height.

"Chu." The pikachu turned away, a few sparks even flying from her cheeks as she snubbed me.

I raised an eyebrow. That pokemon seemed like a handful. "I hope your pikachu's powers make all the challenges that come with handling her worth it. If not, you might be better off trading her or something."

He shook his head. "It's not a challenge at all." I stared at him with disbelief and he continued. "Pikachu's my best friend, I don't really handle her. She's my first pokemon, given to me from Professor Oak on day one of my journey. I can't imagine life without her. We're kind of like partners!" He smiled as he told me this.

How naïve, I thought to myself. Human and pokemon relationships didn't work like that. There could be a mutual respect between parties, but it all came down to a power play. The fact was that humans used pokemon. It was a pleasant enough situation for them, usually, but the fact was the humans directed a trained pokemon's actions, and good pokemon followed orders. Taming these creatures was part of a delicate balance that the whole world for the most part played into, and a human concept like friendship didn't really come into play.

Still, his childish reasoning was kind of endearing in a way. And such loyalty was admirable, if misplaced. And if he had that kind of love for a little pocket monster, he might even be able to hold an affection for someone like me some day.

"Hey, there's already someone battling!" he yelled out.

"Of course, you didn't think that we'd be the only ones wanting to battle today, did you?" I said.

"Oh, it's Shigeru!" the receptionist said. As I glanced toward her, a slight blush came to her cheeks. "Sorry, sir. Their time is still for another hour, but the battle is open for any to watch."

"Should we?" I asked, turning back toward my self-proclaimed rival.

"Yeah... I've never been to one of these places. Maybe it would be best for me to watch a battle first."

Before he and I could go through the door to the stands, the receptionist spoke to us again. "Oh, wait!" she said. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, sir, but you neglected to note this in your reservation. Will your battle be open for the public to watch?"

I paused, then turned over to him. "I'll leave that to you, I don't care either way," I said.

"Oh, yeah, you bet anyone can watch! There's no reason to have something like a pokemon battle be private, anyway. Anyone who wants to can watch," he declared.

Well, he'd certainly be comfortable in a place like Indigo Stadium. The receptionist held her hand to her mouth, looking like she was holding back a very unprofessional outburst of glee, and as I turned toward the door, I saw her beginning a conversation on a sparkly pink cellphone. Great, I thought, so we'd definitely have an audience.

"Huh?" he said as we entered the room. "What, what's this?" He curiously pressed his hand against the window to the actual stadium.

"Looks like fingerprints," I said. He quickly took his hand down. "Didn't I tell you that building something like this didn't come cheap? This room is built especially to protect spectators."

"But in other stadiums they don't-"

"Trust me, in the stadiums you've seen on TV, there are measures set up to protect the audience, though they aren't as obvious. Here, with attacks like your pikachu's electricity flying around in such a small, contained area, a barrier is necessary."

"I guess," he said dubiously. Well, if he'd been battling within city limits all along and letting his pikachu shock anything and everything, I could see why he might be unconvinced.

"Pika!" The pikachu, who had been perched on his shoulder, now motioned toward the battle scene.

For the first time, I looked to the happenings outside the room. Well, this obviously wasn't going to be a learning experience. It was just a pair of kids, possibly ones that just reached the legal age, possibly even younger, not that I was hypocritical enough to say anything, of course. Inspecting the pokemon involved, I soon saw why the pikachu was so interested, a pokemon similar to her was out there.

"Oh... It's another pikachu!"

I about tripped as I heard this. Even his pikachu seemed to groan, saying "Chuu...." in a low tone.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"Huh?" he said.

"That's a pichu! Of course, there are similarities, but there are some very distinct differences. That's why a pikachu is an evolution instead of just a pichu that grew a little bigger."

"I... I knew that. I've just never seen a pichu before," he said.

He seemed embarrassed at my lecturing. I hadn't meant to be condescending, even though I had. I didn't really see a way to fix it either, though. As I thought it over, a voice came across the speakers inside. "Pidgey, go!"

Good, a distraction, I thought to myself. I turned my attention away from him and toward the battle outside. "Ah, he's got no chance with that choice," I said. When we battled, what would his choices be like, I wondered? Wait, he had no choice. Though I'd brought a variety of pokemon, he'd only brought his pikachu. And after I thought that, I immediately had a strategy.

"Really? You think Pichu will win?" he asked with excitement. He and his pikachu stared wide-eyed at the battle.

"Thundershock!" the other kid's voice crackled through the speaker as he gave his pokemon an order. The pidgey soon fainted from the attack.

"Ah! Pichu was tired, but it won anyway! Who knew it was that powerful! Pretty impressive, huh Pikachu!"

"Pi," his pikachu replied pleasantly.

"How could you tell it was that powerful anyway, Gary?" he asked and turned back toward me.

"There's nothing to tell," I said. His blank stare demanded more of an answer. "Well... It's not unique to that pichu. All pokemon have impressive powers. It's all in how you use them," I said.

He suddenly came close to me, breaking the rules of personal space yet again. "I agree! I totally agree!" he almost shouted with excitement. "I believe in the power of my pokemon, AH-" He tripped over my feet as he tried to sit in the seat next to mine. But he quickly positioned himself in the seat, straightened his hat, and looked back at me. "I believe in their powers! All of my pokemon can be great, because they already are."

That wasn't quite what I'd meant, of course I'd be referring to the very basics of pokemon strategy through type advantages. But still, I nodded. He had passion, if nothing else. Besides, he was right, in a way. All of my knowledge, talent and experience would mean nothing if it wasn't combined with my cool confidence. Pokemon could tell if their trainer was nervous or unsure, and those feeling became contagious. My pokemon always knew we could win because I also knew we could win. "You've got a point, and have to say I agree with you on that," I said.

"But I was just agreeing with you about it," he said casually.

I didn't reply to that, and I didn't have anything else to say, either. He didn't seem to notice much, all of his attention was now dedicated to the battle. I decided to just remain silent. What was there to talk about at that moment, anyway? The kid wouldn't even tell me his name.

I sat back against the seat and closed my eyes, as the battle wasn't nearly as interesting to me. But still, I felt at ease in the viewing room. The fact that I was anxiety free confused me a little. Not that I was the type to obsess over nerves, but I did obsess over my opponents. Little things that I noticed, such as the ways my opponents communicated with their pokemon, often ended up giving me an advantage. There was always more to learn, but...

This was an unnatural state of calm. I'd say it was completely foreign, but at the same time I felt a bit of nostalgia. Maybe it was similar to time I'd spent with him before, part of the memories of him that I'd thrown out. I lay back and stared at the plain white ceiling, only partially listening to the calls and jeers over the loudspeaker and even the conversation between him and his pikachu. I tried to dig deeper into my memory, maybe get a small piece of the part I'd been missing.

Just when I thought I'd reach it, I was interrupted by shrieks. I sat up, startled, and looked to the door. The receptionist with behind her several other girls behind her stood there staring at us. "Um, everything's all set for your battle, sir."

"Already?" I said.

I looked at the seat next to me, and saw he was glaring at me. "You were napping, weren't you?"

"Yeah..." I said hesitantly. I hadn't realized it, but if so much time had passed, I likely had been.

"You're not going to say you're too tired to battle me, are you?" he asked crossly. The girls at the door also looked a bit worried.

"Of course not," I said. "I'm completely rested. No, better than rested. Let's go."

The girls cheered happily as the two of us exited to go battle.

"Good luck, Shige- sir," the receptionist said, and the girls around her nodded and even squealed in delight.

"Thank you," I said.

I noticed he rolled his eyes as we finally walked in. "Must be nice to have a team of girls cheering for you wherever you go," he said.

"Not all the time," I said honestly. Sometimes I did feel like reacting the way he just had, with absolute disdain. But, as my grandpa had lectured me before, it really did me no favors to act that way. Besides, the receptionist her was somewhat professional, I noticed she kept a distance between me and the spectators. Unfortunately, this didn't always happen.

The door shut behind us, and sealed. Suddenly, I did start to feel the nerves. Why? It was a small stadium, with only about five people watching me, and a battle against an amateur. As he took his place by the opposite podium and stared with determination back at me, it only made things worse. I almost felt frozen, and I couldn't even take my eyes away from the ground.

"Why are you just standing there? Are you waiting for something?" he called loudly to be from across the room.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the feeling that was almost like stage fright. But that didn't make sense, considering that this was a comfortable setting and situation, a place I'd been multiple times before. In a place like this I could always show off my knowledge and talent, being completely competent in all activities that occurred here.

Except when the battle ended and it was time to socialize... Despite how I felt about the trainer, it never seemed to go well. I could rarely make a good impression, let alone friends, and even then I could never keep them. Throughout the years I'd learned to make as quick an exit as possible before I broke the good impression or otherwise messed things up. This left a nice, professional distance between me and any other trainers. But now, I didn't want to do that, and had no idea where to start.

"Come on! I'm ready, there's no reason to delay!" he called again.

I took a deep breath and drew up some of my default trainer confidence. At the very least, I could start by not bomb at what I was good at. "Ready? No, you're not," I said. I took out my pokedex and placed it on the podium. The screen on the wall now lit up with my picture.

"Ah!" he said, and quickly followed my example. His own picture soon appeared on the screen, and under that, his name. Well, this was something, I thought as I stared at it and tried to see if it could help be remember anything further.